Responses to Questions...

I just got back from London last night and I have the plague now so I’m answering questions rather than being in class. I’ve been sleeping on and off all day.

Kyle, I would argue that in no way is culture becoming less important in France. In schools, as well as businesses, the French are much more blunt than in the United States or other places in the world. People will verbally critique you and do so in front of others. There really isn't a concept of positive reinforcement here. It can be discouraging to those with an American mindset but here people see it as a way to motivate others to work harder. Religion is strictly separated from business and state. In public schools, Muslim women cannot wear headscarves and Christians can not wear crosses. However, religion in everyday life is still important as I mentioned with the relics and people praying at the altars.

Alison, I'm not sure about the free university-- I'll have to ask my host nephew. I know that my host brother gets paid to go to school. How amazing is that? The protests right now are more about hours and pay (as always) but also about changing the system. They want to make the schools more mixed so that you have varying levels of intelligence and talents at each university. It's really controversial. I would say that technology speaking, France is on par or a tiny bit behind the United States. They are very concerned with maintaining history but not so much that they don't look into technology. If the two come into conflict, my guess would be history would take precedence because that's what the country prides itself on -- not being the most technologically advanced.

On a side note, I don't know who asked this (I think Celia) but France is outsourcing. I bought a purse the other day and was talking to the woman about a brand of French purses that I used to like. She told me that the company had been outsourced to China and was no longer popular in France because it could no longer claim the Paris name.

Carly, the people here do not go into English. I think they are used to Institute students and are patient. Your experience may be a result of how large your city was. I do have French friends here who want to practice English but we mostly speak French. One of my girl friends in particular, has me write down English idioms and we compare in French. It's a good exchange because we both are learning something about the other language. And signs here are all in French.

Justin, I think I would find an art history class in the US boring too. I am in love with the class here because everywhere you look is art history. For example, my art history class last week was at the cathedral in Tours to learn about gothic architecture. You can't do that kind of thing in the US. And when I visit cathedrals or other historic places in France, they are more meaningful because I know what I am looking at. What's the point of looking at architecture or paintings if you don't know what it is you're looking at? I love being able to look at a tympan and know exactly what's going on in it. As for museums, I've been to a few but I much prefer architecture to paintings. If you want some good universities with France, let me know, there are quite a few good ones!

Patrick, I watch a lot of TV here with my host family but I do not know a whole lot about it. I do know however, that TV is state sponsored and thus is subject to a lot of regulations. The most specific regulation is that after 8 PM, stations can only have 15 or 20 minutes (I don’t remember the exact number) for 2 hours. That is significantly less than the time in the United States. As for Sarkozy, they do treat him a lot like we treated Bush. Almost no one here likes him or respects him. It’s still a little hard for me to pick up subtle biases in newspapers but some papers do outwardly bash the president. And handball – same rules. It’s a great sport!

Anastasia – the idea of openness in France is a really interesting thing to think about. For example, a lot of French here love to talk about America and how things are different there. However, although they like to learn or talk about other cultures – that does not make them want to change their culture. Things here are very slow to change when it comes to culture. For example, my host dad has very strict notions about what food is acceptable to eat and it would be VERY difficult to convince him otherwise.

Heather – I hope my experiences here will make me more marketable! I definitely love learning about new cultures and seem to adjust pretty well. I just found out today that I shouldn’t be cutting my lettuce! It’s impolite. Oops. I absolutely LOVE the culture here. I love that people here are in a hurry but not too much to enjoy what is around them and to stop to say hello to people. I feel that people in the states are ALWAYS in a hurry. I also really like the concept of eating together as a family at certain times each night. The one culture thing that irks me is that everything (and I do mean everything) but the cinemas are closed on Sundays. I know I’m supposed to rest Sunday but it makes wanting to travel to nearby places difficult. And often times it’s the only day I have time to actually go shopping.

Sarah- My art history class is so interesting because I am surrounded by the material. Last week, I had class at the town cathedral. I think that Sarkozy was a charismatic leader in so far as he got elected. I have not met anyone who likes him now. I think he has lost a lot of the characteristics that go into the type of leadership. My host family tries to be neutral when I ask them questions but it’s not hard to pick up that they are not in favor of him either. No one can tell me why – I think they are just unhappy with the “world crisis” as they call it and want something different. But right now, different doesn’t necessarily mean better. And the greve…oh goodness. My trip to Chartres was not the best because of the greve. The city was great but getting there was a pain. Because of the greve, my train was cancelled. In the same manner, some of the greve protests are dangerous (not compared to some other countries but still dangerous the same) so I have to take different routes to school and other places. Overall, it hasn’t interfered too much which is a good thing.


Stephanie – You are more than welcome to ask about religion. Religion here is a very private matter (refer to my response to Kyle’s question). As far as prejudices go, I feel that the culture is very welcoming to all religions. I have yet to see a mosque but I don’t think any religion makes the French dislike a person any more.

Sarah- make sure you check out the answers to Kyle and Stephanie’s questions as well. Churches here are treated as both historical landmarks and areas to practice religion. A lot of people visit cathedrals to see the amazing architecture but others go there to pray and practice religion. It depends on the individual. But in no way is there an assumption that people are Christian or is religion forced. It is a very private matter.

Julie – like I said to Kyle, Stephanie, and Sarah, religion here is very private. Prejudice doesn’t exist because the state mandates a strict separation. I can’t speak for every city, but most cities surround a cathedral or at least the cathedral is in the old part of the city. (A lot of European cities have an old city and a new city) The French could care less about football. My host dad knew about the Superbowl and asked me about it but they care much more about Rugby and Handball which are two sports not as popular in the states. I think the bonds between European states are interesting – it’s very competitive here in terms of sports. I feel like the US needs to catch on already!!